Improve went in steam-plows



UNITED STATES y PATENT OEEreE.

AuvieaovelvnaivT IN STEAM-FLOWS,

Specitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,122, dated December 13, 1F59.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,J.\V.I1`AWKES, of Christiana, in the county ot' Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive or Steam Plows; and I do herebydeclarethat thet'ollowingis afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making apart ot' this specification, in whichl `Figure 1. is a side elevation ot' a locomotive or steam plow with my improvements applied to it. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view ofthe same. l

Fig. 3 is a detached view ot a clutch arrangement pertaining to the same. Fig. 4 is a detached view ot' an automatic pawl arrange ment pertaining to the same. 1

Similar letters ot" reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures; l

The invention consists, irst, in the arrangement of a peculiar mechanism employed `for elevating the. plow-frame, whereby the latter maybe actuated so as to incline the plows, and the mechanism stopped automatically when the frame and plows aresufficiently elevated. H l

The invention consists, second, in a novel combination, with the iirst feature, of a holding-pawl and brake, substantially as hereinaf. ter shown and described, to facilitate the ad justment of the plows to their work.

To enable those skilled inthe art to fully understandand construct my invention, .I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a traction-engine the front part of the framing of which is supported by two wheels, B B, the axle C of which may be turned by a segment, a., and screw bin order to guide the machine. The back and principal part` of the framing is supported' by a drum, D, of slightly hilge form, said drum serving as the driver or propeller, and which has mo tion communicated to it from the steam-cylinders fin any proper way.

The above parts do not require a minute description, as they have been formerly used and may be seen inzapatent granted to me January 26, 1858. l

At the back part or" the engine there is a shaft, E, which is allowedto turn freely in its bearings. This shaft E has a ratchet, c, at one end, into which a pawl, d, catches, and two pulleys, e e, are placed on this shaft,

one near each end, around which chains or ropes F I l pass, said chains or ropes having each` an lauxiliary chain or rope, f, attached. These chains or ropes pass over pnlh-ys g, attached to bars Gr G,\which project l'ronrthe back part of the engine.. The ends of.` the chains or ropes F `I" "jare attachedto the aiti glcs of a rhomboid frame, H, which bastan ob-` I, is permanently attached, one plow being;` l slightly in advance ot' the other-and turning a furrow-slice which will be lapped by the one turned by the hindmost plow. i Each frame J has a gage-wheehl, attached to its front end,

and these wheels determine the depth of the furrows. l 1 l. i i

`The frames J aretattached to the frame H as follows.:` 'Io the front end ot'each frame J the lower end ofV a` bar,`L, is pivoted. These bars pass upward Vthrough slotted: plates h., attached to the lront part ot' the frame H, and through the upperpart of each bar L, above its `plate h, a wooden pin,f, passes. The back part of each frame J has a curved bar, j, attached, and these bnrsare fitted `in slotted plates k, attached to the bach part ot' the frame H, both to its upper and lower side, the slotsof the plates lc extending to thebncl; ends of theplates, asshuwn clearlyin Fig. 2.

The plates 7c are secured to the frame `H by l screw-bo1ts l, which `pass through oblong slots in the back bar ot the frame, and admit of the smaller frames J being adjusted` parallel with each other and severally in line with the planes of their movement. Each frame J y is connected by a chain, K', with a. bnr, L', attached tothe engine. The chains K'` are attached to the bar Ll by means ot' wooden pins m. which` pass through loops n. on the bar L', and through the chains K. (See Fig. 1.) Through each bar j L pins a* pass, which determinethelength of the play or movement of said bars.

` The shaft E has also a pulley, o, placed on it, around which pulley a belt, p, passes, said beltalso passing around a pulley, q, on a clutch,

t, which is placed loosely on a small shaft, s, in the framing of the engine. The shaft s is connected by means of suitable gearing with the driving mechanism of the drum, and consequently the former rotates with the hitter, and a gear-wheel, t, on the shafts has an aperiure made in it to receive a pin, u, at the side of the pulley q when the latter is moved in contact with said wheel. (See` Fig. 8.) The pulley and cluch q r are operated by a lever, M, which has an oblique slot, o, at its outerend, through which a lever, N, has a rod, O, attached to it, and this rod is connected by a chain or cord, a', with aforked leverrb, which is attached to one of the bars G. One of the chains or ropes F is fitted in the forked end of the lever b', and said chain or rope has a button or projection, c', thereon, the use of which will be presently shown.

P is a rod one end of which is attached to a lever, Q, on the framing of the engine, the other end being attached to a brake, R,`also attached to the framing ofthe engine, and near a wheel, S, and one end of the shaft E. The

brakeR is sim )lv a lever having its lower iartb flattened and curved to correspond with the periphery of the wheel S. The fulcrum d of the Lbrake R has aprojection, e', on it,and this projection is directly under and acts against the pawl d, elevating it free from the ratchet4 c, when the lever Q is drawn back and the brake R thrown in contact with the wheel S.

The operation ofthe machine is as follows: As the machine is propelled along, the plows I turn the furrow-slices in the ordinary way, any proper number of plows being used, according to the size and power of the machine. Each fratrie J is allowed an independent movement in the common frame H, as the bars Lj have a certain degree of vertical play in their respective plates h h. Each fra me J may therefore fall in passing over a depressed surface of the earth without affecting the frames at its side, and each frame may rise and carry with it the common frame H for a certain distance without affecting the other frames. It will be seen, therefore, that each pair of plowsthat is to say,the two plows of each frameJ- are allowed an independent, adjustable movey ment to conform to the inequalities of the surface of the earth over which they pass.

In case of either of the plows of a frame meeting with an obstruction, the wooden pin m, which connects its chain K with the bar L', will break, and the bar L of the obstructed frame J will be forced forward by the movement of the frame H, and the wooden pin t' will also be broken and the frame J consequently detached from the common frame'H without ai'ecting either of the other frames J. By this means none of the parts of the machine will be strained or injured in consequence of eitherof the plows being obstructed by obstacles in its path.

When the whole gang of plows are to be raised out of and free from the earth the attendant moves forward the upper part of the lever N, and the lever M is thereby actuated and the clutch r attached to wheel t. Motion is consequently given the shaft E by the belt p, and as the shaft E rotates the chains F F will be wound on the pulleys e c, and the front part ofthe plow-frame H will be iirst elevated, as the supplemental orauxiliary chains or ropes f are rather shorter than the end portions of F. This elevation ofthe frontend ofthe frame H inclines upward the front ends of the plows I and causes the same to pass upward out of the ground, and when the inclination has been given said frame H the end plates of thechains F then act on the frame, which is raised bodily until the plows are free from the earth. When the plows have arrived at a suitable height the button or projection c will aetuate the lever b', and the rod O will throw the lever N back to its original position, and the pulley q will be disengaged from wheel t and the shalt E stopped. By this automatic stop mechanism the machine is prevented from having its parts deranged by any undue upward movement of the plows. The plows are retained in proper position by the pawl d, which, by engaging with the ratchet c, prevents the shaft E from turning under the weight of the plows and their frames.

In order to adjust the plows to their work, the attendant throws forward the upper end of lever Q, and bytliat means applies the bra-ke R to the wheel S. Simultaneously with this movement of the brake the pawl d-is raised free from the ratchet c by the projection e on the fulcrum-shaft d of the brake R. By this means the frame H with the frames J and the plowsare allowed to descend gradually.

I do not claim the driving-drum D, nor the mode of turning the front wheels, B, of the carriage of the traction-engine; nor do I claim broadly the employment or use of a series of plowsplaced behind a traction-en gine irrespective of the mode of connection to the engine and the arrangement herein described; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

l. The arrangement of the clutch r, levers M N, rod O, lever b', and button or projection c on the chain F, whereby the chains F F are wound on the pulleys c c of the shaft E and stopped automatically at the proper time, for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the above, the brake R and pawl d, when applied to the machine to operate simultaneously, as and for the purpose described.

J. W. FAWKES. Witnesses:

ALFRED ALLEN, WM. Avans. 

